Immune markers for monitoring the progression of autoimmune disease

Abstract

The incidence of immune-mediated diseases is increasing worldwide. Reliable immune markers for monitoring disease progression and also the effect of therapeutic interventions are urgently needed in order to investigate preventive or therapeutic measures effectively. At a recent workshop held on 5 December 1998 in Copenhagen, the state of research on surrogate markers in Type 1 diabetes was discussed and compared with the experience in multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease and transplantation.